Rendell -- The Exit Interview.

Gov. Ed ... ... may be running out the clock on his final term, but he did not lack for things to say during one of his last interviews before he leaves office in just 12 days and turns the keys over to Republican Tom Corbett.

In a wide-ranging, 70-minute conversation with Capitol reporters today, Rendell was, by turns, defensive and effusive, touting the administration’s successful efforts to increase spending on public education and expand health insurance coverage for children from low-income families, even as he bristled at criticisms of the way he had awarded state contracts.

Rendell bragged about eliminating waste and inefficiency in general government operations, using the savings to boost spending in other areas of state government. He said he regretted signing the 2005 pay raise that provoked an unprecedented wave of voter anger, even as he acknowledged he did so because he feared legislative Republicans would block his agenda if he did not.

And, amid an ongoing public corruption investigation of the Legislature by Corbett, the two-term state attorney general, Rendell crowed that no one in his office had been arrested or indicted on corruption charges in his eight years at the helm.

“Let the record note, that with 12 days to go, that not one member of the Rendell administration has been arrested or indicted in terms of their service for the administration,” he told reporters. “Considering the culture of corruption here, that is something that has not gotten attention, but of which I am proud.”

Here’s a partial transcript of the interview. The questions were asked by us, as well as other members of the state Capitol press corps. It has been edited for length and for clarity.

Q: Do you consider [increases in] education [funding] to be your biggest accomplishment?

A: Well, [it’s] probably the one that will have the most long-lasting effect.

Q: Gaming, casinos, you may be best remembered for that. Do you agree with that?

A: No. But by the way, I think gaming’s been a real plus for the state of Pennsylvania. There are tens of thousands of people who are working today who wouldn’t be working without gaming. We have a horse racing industry which went from moribund to flourishing. There are thousands of people who benefit from that. We have seen county and municipal governments benefit from the money they got from gaming to help them shoulder the burden of basic services to their residents.

And, as I said, the dollars that went to property tax relief, particularly for seniors, have been beyond my most optimistic projections, especially when you consider that three of our venues are not up and running yet. So it’s been very successful.

Q: Are you concerned that your progressive agenda, the accomplishments that you’ve achieved are going to be undone in light of the deficit and the governor-elect’s no-tax pledge?

A: Sure. And I have tried to alert advocacy groups and progressive groups and some of people in the Legislature who want to preserve that agenda … to that fact and we’ll see how that plays out. The one thing that Gov. Corbett will have going for him is that the economy – and you’ve all covered my last couple of press conferences – seems to be turning around in Pennsylvania at a rapid rate.

Q: One of the things he [Corbett] will have going for him is one-party government. What difference do you think that would have made?

A: I think we would have come further along. If, let’s say in one area we accomplished in one area 70 percent … we might have been closer to 100 percent. I think we would have been very successful in getting stuff through the Legislature. It happened sometimes at a cost to my personal favorability rating, like in the two, long budget hold-outs. But I basically got what I wanted on economic development and education. And I know you guys don’t believe this, but I’ve told you all along that I was more interested in the final product than my favorability rating.

Q: You’ve done things that have affected Pennsylvanians’ lives in a lot of ways, from [the mandatory helmet law]. Just wondering, what are you happiest about?

A: It’s so hard to pick just one. But I think education. I mean , it clearly, if you look at the track we’re on with our economy. The economy is becoming more global. The economy is becoming more technology-driven. Everywhere, in every aspect of our economy is technology-driven now. What we have, I think, has inured to the benefit of millions of young people as they enter the job market … No Pennsylvanian should leave high school without a working knowledge of technology, which is, these days, rudimentary.

Q: Do you take any solace from the fact that, while we face a multibillion dollar deficit for 2012, it’s small compared to other large states? And did you contribute to that deficit – good or bad?

A: One of the reasons it’s smaller than most large states is because we’re one only 10 fiscally stable states. Yes, I spend money, but I pay for it. I paid for it by the savings (bangs hand on table for emphasis). Pay-as-you-go. How many bills did I veto in my eight years because the Legislature wanted to spend money that they didn’t appropriate? …. We’re as pretty close to a pay-as-you-go government as you can find anywhere. So, yes, we contributed to that fiscal stability.

Q: Where do you see the future of [small to mid-sized] cities going in terms of financial stability?

A: The cities are having budgetary problems because of pensions. Clearly, that’s the No. 1 problem. And because there are often practices with benefit packages that are not consistent with the private sector. Some cities have taken action … My advice to the cities is don’t come to Harrisburg until you’ve made the tough decisions yourselves. It’s the same advice I would give to states about going to the federal government.

Q: Are there any regrets you have in terms of something you pushed for at one point that you wished you hadn’t?

A: My only regret is that I should have turned down the Legislature’s request for a pay raise … the [cost-of-living adjustment] was sufficient, given what was going on. And I knew that it would cause trouble. And I was too easily persuaded to do it because I was told that unless I did it, I wouldn’t get legislative cooperation for the remaining time that I was governor.

Doing it cost a lot of good people, a lot of Republicans, but some Democrats, their jobs … I should have said no.

Q: You’ve’ highlighted the fact that no one in your administration had been arrested or indicted for corrupt behavior on your watch. But over the last seven years you’ve come under some fairly consistent criticism for the administration’s contracting practices. Isn’t that at least as corrosive as anyone getting arrested or indicted?

A: If there was anything sinister, they would have been indicted. It’s as simple as that. None of them [the contracts] were sinister. They were all made based on a judgment, none of which were my judgment initially. It was the judgment of some manager that it was necessary for the effectiveness and efficiency of that operation for the Commonwealth. And when you look at the cost-savings we’ve been able to achieve, that pretty much bears it out.

Q: You weren’t able to get the Legislature to move on a [Marcellus shale severance tax]. With Republicans in charge now, is shale going to be unregulated?

A: No, I think if you listen to the talk coming out of both the Republican caucuses and the transition team, I think they’re going to pass a fee. And the fee, at the very least, will go to compensate local and county governments. So I think there will be some level of revenue coming from the shale producers. Not probably a large number. It will not be what they pay in other states, but there will be some. Remember, you’ve got to divorce the issue of what they pay in terms of a fee or a tax doesn’t necessarily determine whether there’s active regulation.

Q: Do you regret signing the [2010-2011 state] budget without having an agreement on shale?

A: Yeah, but this was the first time they told me something they didn’t live up to. I guess I should have anticipated that was possible in my last year. But … for 7 ½-years, they never told me something and then didn’t do it. Sometimes it was reluctantly and sometimes it was in a slightly bastardized fashion, but never something that they didn’t do.

Q: In terms of your progressive agenda in its broadest sense, especially in areas that would fundamentally change the way government operates in Pennsylvania -- and by that I’m talking about campaign finance reform, term limits, a smaller Legislature …

A: Didn’t get any of that done.

Q: … All of which you advocated strongly, and pushed strongly, starting with your second inaugural address, how much progress did you make on any of it?

A: We didn’t make any progress on any of it. Certainly, the Open Records Act is progress. There’s no question about that … I’m trying to think if there’s anything else we made progress on … Not much. Not much … And I’m beginning to believe that – and I’m worried about a constitutional convention, because a wide-open constitutional convention could wind up making us a referendum state, which would be a disaster. But I’m beginning to believe that only a constitutional convention could achieve that type of progress.

Q: What will you miss most about being governor? What will you miss the least?

A: The part of my job I enjoy most is the ability, and I know this sounds corny, the ability to affect people’s lives. Being governor, a mayor, you have that ability, sometimes one person at a time, sometimes 12.5 million people at a time. And no matter what I do, no matter how exciting it may be, or how well-paid it might be, or how interesting it might be, there’s nothing that can replace that feeling.

The thing that I will miss least is the partisanship. I think my business has become a terrible business. If you had told me six years ago that I would be in my last two weeks as governor and I wouldn’t be looking forward to the end of my career as a public official with dread, I’d have said you were crazy. I would have been full of dread and melancholy. But I’m not. Because this place has become –and it’s not just this place, it’s Washington, it’s Sacramento, it’s Albany, it’s everywhere. Far too much partisanship. The first thought of 90 percent of the people in state capitols is how we screw the other side, not how we benefit the people. There’s too much ideological posturing -- people signing no-tax pledges because they want to get elected, people afraid to vote for any commonsense initiatives.

Q: What advice do you have for Mr. Corbett as he takes over?

A: I am going to institute a tradition that I think is a great tradition in Washington -- and to my knowledge hasn’t been done here in Harrisburg -- I am going to leave a hand-written letter for the governor-elect on his desk Tuesday morning [Jan. 18]. And I’ll give him some advice and some of it will be private. But my biggest piece of advice: govern like you’re going to be a one-term governor. Do what you believe in. Don’t worry about the political consequences. Because, first of all, if you do that and you stick to your guns, you’re probably going to get re-elected anyway. But secondly, you’ll feel good about what you do and you’ll have a whole lot more fun than you will if you worry about the political consequences.

Q: What’s next for you?

A: There are three things that I would put in – entertainment; the book, which I don’t expect to make money on. I’m not even sure I’m going to get a publisher; speeches for some compensation; something in TV – I might actually end up working for one of your organizations in a small role. Additionally, I will be a consultant for a number of companies. I will probably sign on to one of three or four different law firms. And I will be on several boards. That ought to keep me busy.

Current Comments

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